1C Company announces development of King's Bounty: Warriors of the North, saying the next game in the King's Bounty series of fantasy-themed turn-based strategy/role-playing games is due in the Spring of next year. The King's Bounty: Warriors of the North Product Section offers some screenshots, and here's what to expect from the game:

A new hero, young Olaf, the son of the Northling King, dedicates his life to the fight against the undead infesting the Northern Lands of Endoria. He will face epic battles, valor and love. Accompanied by gorgeous Valkyries who will assist Olaf on the battlefield, he will liberate the icy wastelands of the North, dwarven dungeons and Darion, the heart of the Endoria, from the reign of necromancy.

King's Bounty: Warriors of the North features:

• New plot, telling the story of the fight between the Good and the Evil, betrayal and love
• New companions - 5 Valkyries, assisting Olaf on the field of battle.
• New locations
• New units
• New skills
• New awards and achievements
• New school of magic - Rune Magic

loved these games: I was occasionally flummoxed by the lack of money to buy troops. I realize that is part of the strategy (to preserve your troops because money is intentionally limited), but it got me in trouble early on in armored princess.

Kythlyn wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 17:37:Personally I think 10 hours for a dedicated first or third person shooter campaign is more than long enough. That kind of twitchy gameplay is exhausting and repetitive. Really, it's the same 30-60 second fight being repeated over and over with variations on setting and slight changes to enemy patterns. 10 hours of it? Fine. 20? No thanks.

At least with a game like Deus Ex you have lengthy periods of downtime from the action in the form of storyline segments and RPG mechanics. Not to mention how character development keeps combat interesting. It makes sense for a game like that to be longer than 10 hours.

Nah, what you're talking about is pacing. Obviously repeating the same shooting mechanics for 20hrs is going to get stale but that's why you need to be given new locations, new weapons, new plot twists and new characters. That's how a game like Oblivion works, where you have towns, the wilderness, dungeons, random houses, etc. And with engines like idTech5 (RAGE) and Dunia (Far Cry 2) there is no reason you can't have those sort of large open worlds. We're already seeing more RPG like elements merging into the FPS genre and it's going a good job of extending the gameplay AND improving the experience, rather than simply padding it out. If you've got solid shooter mechanics then all you need is a decent sized world and you can add randomised encounters, though you still need sections that are more directed.

Sandbox games like Far Cry 2 were let down by not having enough directed sections. Apart from at the very end there were very few on-foot-only sections, minus the towns which were typically non-combat areas. Borderlands achieved this by having areas where vehicles were restricted and utilising boss fights.

I want to see a game like Oblivion / Skyrim, merged with shoot mechanics and an engine with decent levels of close up detail. FC2 aimed for that but didn't quite deliver. FC3 and Borderlands 2 are the next games to take it on and I'm very much looking forward to both.

This is great news, I had given up on there being any more in the Kings Bounty series.

I finished the Legend, Armored Princess and Crossworlds (the campaign in Crossworlds is a slightly modified version of the one in Armored Princess). All great games, I've played them for over 200 hours.

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 17:02:I'm not sure I agree. I sank over 100hrs into Oblivion and found the entire experience to be incredible. Now I find it hard to get as excited about a typical linear shooter where it might take between 6 and 8 hours to complete and cost the same - sure they tend to offer a more emotional involvement but not to justify the difference. To me the balance with FPS games is achieved with games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Far Cry 2 - both have very satisfying combat but give playtimes of 25hrs+. Then again, can you beat the value that the Orange Box provided? Two singleplayer games and an incredible multiplayer game.

There's simply no reason for games to be so short with the technology and budgets available. As we've seen, if other genres don't keep up with the value offered by RPGs like Skyrim then they'll be left behind. The only reason Call Of Duty has gotten away with ridiculously short campaigns is because of the effort put into multiplayer.

Personally I think 10 hours for a dedicated first or third person shooter campaign is more than long enough. That kind of twitchy gameplay is exhausting and repetitive. Really, it's the same 30-60 second fight being repeated over and over with variations on setting and slight changes to enemy patterns. 10 hours of it? Fine. 20? No thanks.

At least with a game like Deus Ex you have lengthy periods of downtime from the action in the form of storyline segments and RPG mechanics. Not to mention how character development keeps combat interesting. It makes sense for a game like that to be longer than 10 hours.

So the question is then do dedicated first person shooters lack value? Putting the multiplayer component aside, I'd still say the answer is no. There is plenty of value in these games, often in the form of multiple difficulty settings, arcade modes, cheats (or skulls). And then there's the ridicuious production value of the settings and (brief) story elements. If you're into the genre, I see no lack of value in a 10 hour campaign.

Alamar wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 15:14:I agree, in a sense, but I think a lot of people are too focused on that ratio meaning something... Let's take a genre I sometimes enjoy... RPGs. A lot of the time, RPGs have a great deal more hours (so a higher ratio) than other genre's, but often, so much of that time is spent dealing with the UI, or worse; traveling. That's not quality entertainment to me...

I guess I'm just being all philosophical today : )

I'm not sure I agree. I sank over 100hrs into Oblivion and found the entire experience to be incredible. Now I find it hard to get as excited about a typical linear shooter where it might take between 6 and 8 hours to complete and cost the same - sure they tend to offer a more emotional involvement but not to justify the difference. To me the balance with FPS games is achieved with games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Far Cry 2 - both have very satisfying combat but give playtimes of 25hrs+. Then again, can you beat the value that the Orange Box provided? Two singleplayer games and an incredible multiplayer game.

There's simply no reason for games to be so short with the technology and budgets available. As we've seen, if other genres don't keep up with the value offered by RPGs like Skyrim then they'll be left behind. The only reason Call Of Duty has gotten away with ridiculously short campaigns is because of the effort put into multiplayer.

Kythlyn wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 12:04:It starting to feel like there will never be a "slow time of year" ever again in this industry. It seems like every month there's another AAA title to sink dozens or hundreds of hours into.

It's a good time to be alive : )

-Alamar

How quickly you forget. Most of srping and near all of summer is virtually devoid of good new titles. We gripe about it plenty.

Anyway, dig this series, but they do need to release an editor with it.

Actually, I spend my spring/summer outside doing physical, uhm, stuff... Because I have a life! Ya...

Not sure why that 'argument' came to me; likely partly due to the CNN thread. I always found it so ridiculous... Much like most name calling, all you're really doing is showing how petty (and defensive) you can be...

Zoom wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 14:10:Got the 3 pack too when it was on sale, not disappointed with the price / gameplay hour ratio there...

I agree, in a sense, but I think a lot of people are too focused on that ratio meaning something... Let's take a genre I sometimes enjoy... RPGs. A lot of the time, RPGs have a great deal more hours (so a higher ratio) than other genre's, but often, so much of that time is spent dealing with the UI, or worse; traveling. That's not quality entertainment to me...

I guess I'm just being all philosophical today : )

Specifically for KB, I remember wasting a lot of time traveling, and worse; re-traveling. Sometimes it's just to top up my <insert uber unit>, and sometimes it's the zelda/metroid style (get an upgrade later in the game that forces you back to the first zone where you can finally bypass a wall of ice, becuase you got the burrito upgrade). Maybe in the end, I just want my in game persona to be as lazy as I am : )

Cutter wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 13:29:How quickly you forget. Most of srping and near all of summer is virtually devoid of good new titles. We gripe about it plenty.

Spring and Summer may slow down a bit compared to Fall and Winter, but they aren't even close to "devoid of good new titles" anymore. And even if they were, I still have a backlog of games going all the way back to PS2 era that I need to get to. And with Steam practically giving games away with their constant sales, I'm just overloaded.

The Legend and Armored Princess are both very huge, very long games. Both took me above 80 hours to complete. While you can become overly powerful in The Legend and breeze through the endgame, it's not the case in Armored Princess where you face strong opposition especially at the end !Crossworlds is just a small side campaign, took me "only" 52 hours to complete.Got the 3 pack too when it was on sale, not disappointed with the price / gameplay hour ratio there...

Kythlyn wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 12:04:It starting to feel like there will never be a "slow time of year" ever again in this industry. It seems like every month there's another AAA title to sink dozens or hundreds of hours into.

It's a good time to be alive : )

-Alamar

How quickly you forget. Most of srping and near all of summer is virtually devoid of good new titles. We gripe about it plenty.

Anyway, dig this series, but they do need to release an editor with it.

Kythlyn wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 12:04:It starting to feel like there will never be a "slow time of year" ever again in this industry. It seems like every month there's another AAA title to sink dozens or hundreds of hours into.

Alamar wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 11:42:If you're still with me, I'm merely trying to say, I picked up the KB 3 pack on steam (likely the summer sale), and got about 20-25 hours in, and moved on to other stuff... I keep wanting to go back, but when I try, I forget where I am, and I don't want to restart just to get a sense of placement...

Yeah, same. I sunk a huge amount of time into it. In fact Steam says I played Legend for 60hrs and I still hadn't completed it. Actually, it's about time I played it again - I just checked my saved games and they were from over two years ago!

Top games, though I'm not sure I see the point in getting another one - the graphics look the same and I have still barely played Armoured Princess and haven't even touched Crossworlds. Even my girlfriend has got further, as she's played Crosswords for over 13hrs.

Wowbagger_TIP wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 11:51:Same thing happened to me. I forget where everything is, where I'm going, what I should do next, etc. It's a good game, but it's long and hard to play straight through. Knowing all the other games that are coming out soon that would distract me for quite a while (mainly Skyrim), I definitely wouldn't start playing now. Maybe a good game for a slow time of year.

It starting to feel like there will never be a "slow time of year" ever again in this industry. It seems like every month there's another AAA title to sink dozens or hundreds of hours into.

King's Bounty just seems low priority, even though I'm enjoying it. You're right, when Skyrim hits, I'll likely forget KB is even installed. And then Diablo III will launch too... and that's just the PC RPG side of things. I'm a multi-genre and multi-platform gamer. :/

Kythlyn wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 11:29:I just started playing this series. The Legend seems like an enourmous game. If the sequel, expansion and now this 2nd sequel are as big, oh man... that's a lot of King's Bounty. The question is, will the gameplay remain interesting throughout?

I can't speak for everyone, and this example isn't even necesarily indicative of anything but my sometimes typical long term play sessions...

If you're still with me, I'm merely trying to say, I picked up the KB 3 pack on steam (likely the summer sale), and got about 20-25 hours in, and moved on to other stuff... I keep wanting to go back, but when I try, I forget where I am, and I don't want to restart just to get a sense of placement...

-Alamar

Same thing happened to me. I forget where everything is, where I'm going, what I should do next, etc. It's a good game, but it's long and hard to play straight through. Knowing all the other games that are coming out soon that would distract me for quite a while (mainly Skyrim), I definitely wouldn't start playing now. Maybe a good game for a slow time of year.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell (I think...)

Kythlyn wrote on Oct 6, 2011, 11:29:I just started playing this series. The Legend seems like an enourmous game. If the sequel, expansion and now this 2nd sequel are as big, oh man... that's a lot of King's Bounty. The question is, will the gameplay remain interesting throughout?

I can't speak for everyone, and this example isn't even necesarily indicative of anything but my sometimes typical long term play sessions...

If you're still with me, I'm merely trying to say, I picked up the KB 3 pack on steam (likely the summer sale), and got about 20-25 hours in, and moved on to other stuff... I keep wanting to go back, but when I try, I forget where I am, and I don't want to restart just to get a sense of placement...

I just started playing this series. The Legend seems like an enourmous game. If the sequel, expansion and now this 2nd sequel are as big, oh man... that's a lot of King's Bounty. The question is, will the gameplay remain interesting throughout?